Armed Neutrality: Swiss Tanks Part 2

In part 1, I set the scene for the Swiss defensive mindset and hopefully you will see the defensive needs refelcted in Swiss tank design. Having looked at WW2 and the Panzer 39 projects, next we shall look at the last project of the 1946-1948 period and take a look at the NK II, probably one of the most ridicilous looking, yet oddly charming tanks I’ve ever seen. After that, some completely new deisgn I hope shall pursuade you to support a full Swiss tree for World of Tanks.

What that Article doesn’t tell however were all the other options I have found in the Swiss archives for the NK II.

First of all there weren’t only 2 guns planned, there were 4 more;

a 7.5cm Pak L/73,

a 9cm Pak L/60,

a 10.5 cm Pak L/60, and

a 15 cm HB 16 L/14.

Additionally there were plans to add 15mm of spaced armor to the front of the NK II.

However, despite the rather lovely NK II, Switzerland wasn’t quite done yet with secret projects. In 1950, 3 new tank designs were made in 14 ton, 16ton and 30 ton versions.

The first two, the 14 and 16 ton tanks were called the ‘Laupen light tanks’. They were very light vehicles with rather big guns, namely the 9cm L/40 guns to be exact. Ingame they would have low penetration concerning caliber and gun length, in the region of 120mm which in my opinion makes them ideal candidates for tier 5 and 6 with a top speed of 50kph.

Plans for the Laupen 16t. Fitted with a 220hp diesel motor, at 16 tons, produces a power to weight ratio of 14hp/ton. It’s based on the G-13 Tank Destroyer.

This is the Laupen 14t. With the same 220hp diesel motor, it gets a hp/ton ratio of 16 hp/ton.

And here is probably one of the best tier 8 tanks that you could see in WoT in the future.

This is a 30 ton tank designed in 1950. The armour features the well sloped piked nose glacis similar to the Soviet IS-3 and is 65mm thick. There were four guns envisaged for this vehicle:

a 90mm L/62,

a 90 mm L/70,

a 105mm gun L/53, or

a 105mm gun L/60

As a medium tank with a 600hp engine at 30 tonnes we have a power to weight ratio of 20 hp/ton with a top speed of 50kph. This is a very capable medium tank for WoT. The front hull is well sloped and the turret is up to 200mm thick at the front and 270mm thick at the mantlet, the sides are very weak being just 40mm thick and the rear even worse. Get behind this tank and it is dead, but from the front this is a mobile bruiser.

A few years later, Switzerland had begun development of the KW 30, which would later be known as the Panzer 58. Initially a wooden mockup was built and the real tank would have had pretty weak armor, with the turret being 70/45/35 front/side/rear and the hull being 60/45/35 front side rear. At just 30 tonnes though, with an 800hp engine, this vehicle manages a rather impressive 26.7hp/ton.

So that concludes Part 2. As I continue digging in the Swiss archives for more projects and designs I shall bring them to you, including modern vehicles which may be more suited for the Armored Warfare game too.